📖 1 Samuel — Chapter 25 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
1 Samuel 25:1 And RSamuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
1 Samuel 25:2 And there was a man in RMaon, whose Tpossessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
1 Samuel 25:3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of Rgood understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
1 Samuel 25:4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal Rdid shear his sheep.
1 Samuel 25:5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and RTgreet him in my name:
1 Samuel 25:6 And thus shall ye say to him that Rliveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
1 Samuel 25:7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, Rwe Thurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
1 Samuel 25:8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in Ra good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.
1 Samuel 25:9 And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and RTceased.
1 Samuel 25:10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, RWho is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
1 Samuel 25:11 RShall I then take my bread, and my water, and my Tflesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
1 Samuel 25:12 So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and Rcame and told him all those sayings.
1 Samuel 25:13 And David said unto his men, RGird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
1 Samuel 25:14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he RTrailed on them.
1 Samuel 25:15 But the men were Rvery good unto us, and we were not Thurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
1 Samuel 25:16 They were Ra wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
1 Samuel 25:17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for Revil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
1 Samuel 25:18 Then Abigail Rmade haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred Tclusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
1 Samuel 25:19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. RBut she told not her husband Nabal.
1 Samuel 25:20 And it was so, as she Rrode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
1 Samuel 25:21 Now David had said, RSurely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.
1 Samuel 25:22 RSo and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
1 Samuel 25:23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and Rlighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
1 Samuel 25:24 And Rfell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine Taudience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
1 Samuel 25:25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, RTregard this man of Belial, Teven Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
1 Samuel 25:26 Now therefore, my lord, Ras the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from Tavenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
1 Samuel 25:27 And now this RTblessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that Tfollow my lord.
1 Samuel 25:28 I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord Rfighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.
1 Samuel 25:29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be Rbound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, Tas out of the middle of a sling.
1 Samuel 25:30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord Raccording to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;
1 Samuel 25:31 That this shall be Tno Rgrief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
1 Samuel 25:32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:
1 Samuel 25:33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from Ravenging myself with mine own hand.
1 Samuel 25:34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst Rhasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
1 Samuel 25:35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, RGo up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
1 Samuel 25:36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held Ra feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
1 Samuel 25:37 But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife Rhad told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
1 Samuel 25:38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that Rthe LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
1 Samuel 25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, RBlessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
1 Samuel 25:40 And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, RDavid sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.
1 Samuel 25:41 And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let Rthine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
1 Samuel 25:42 And RAbigail hasted, and arose and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went Tafter her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
1 Samuel 25:43 David also took Ahinoam of RJezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.
1 Samuel 25:44 But Saul had given RMichal his daughter, David’s wife, to TPhalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
1 Samuel 25:1–13 — Samuel's death and Nabal's insult
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel mourns Samuel at Ramah. Later David seeks provisions from Nabal after protecting his shepherds, but Nabal insults the request. David prepares a violent response with four hundred men. The narrative places his anger under examination rather than assuming it is justified.
Key Truth: Nabal's insult does not make David's planned bloodshed right.
Check What You Remember
1. Where was Samuel buried? (1 Samuel 25:1)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:1 (KJV).
2. Who was Nabal's wife? (1 Samuel 25:3)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:3 (KJV).
3. About how many men went with David? (1 Samuel 25:13)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:13 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
1 Samuel 25:14–31 — Abigail acts and counsels restraint
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
A servant warns Abigail, who brings provisions and meets David. She appeals to the LORD's purpose for him and urges him not to avenge himself or shed blood without cause. Her discernment protects the household and challenges David's intended action.
Key Truth: Wise intervention can prevent harm without excusing the insult that provoked it.
Check What You Remember
1. Who told Abigail of the danger? (1 Samuel 25:14)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:14 (KJV).
2. How many loaves did Abigail bring? (1 Samuel 25:18)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:18 (KJV).
3. What did she urge David not to shed causelessly? (1 Samuel 25:31)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:31 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
1 Samuel 25:32–44 — David accepts correction and Nabal dies
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
David blesses Abigail's advice for keeping him from bloodshed and accepts the gift. Nabal later dies when the LORD smites him. David then takes Abigail as wife, while the closing notices record other changes in his household. David's gratitude explicitly includes being kept from his own intended evil.
Key Truth: David recognizes correction as protection rather than an affront to his honor.
Check What You Remember
1. Whose advice did David bless? (1 Samuel 25:33)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:33 (KJV).
2. About how many days later did Nabal die? (1 Samuel 25:38)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:38 (KJV).
3. Which woman from Jezreel did David also marry? (1 Samuel 25:43)
Find it in 1 Samuel 25:43 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
1 Samuel 24:12 — David's earlier refusal to avenge himself provides a standard for evaluating his anger here.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What does David say Abigail kept him from doing? How does accepting correction change the outcome?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What contrast is drawn between Abigail and Nabal?
2. How does the young man describe David’s men’s conduct toward the shepherds?
3. What future burden does Abigail urge David to avoid?
4. What does David credit Abigail’s intervention with preventing?
5. How does the narrative attribute Nabal’s death?
Notes
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